666 



Statistics. 



Establish- 

 ments for 

 promoting 

 the useful 

 and the fine 

 arts. 



Institution 

 for promot- 

 ing the fine 

 arts, 1818. 



of the productions of domestic and foreign industry, 

 the first of which will take place in, Edinburgh in the 

 month of May, 1827. 



Among the objects of this society there is one which 

 promises to be of extensive use to Scotland, namely, 

 to investigate all those natural productions of the 

 country which are connected with the useful arts and 

 which have been most unaccountably overlooked. A 

 systematic attempt will be made to explain the hidden 

 treasures of our mountains and valleys, and the advan- 

 tages of such an examination cannot be more strongly 

 pointed out than by briefly mentioning Dr. Hibbert's 

 discovery in Shetland, of masses of chromate of iron, 

 a rare and valuable ore, which Europe formerly im- 

 ported from North America, and which is now an arti- 

 cle of active traffic between Shetland and the most dis- 

 tant countries of Europe. 



Till within these few years the cultivation of the 

 fine arts in Scotland had been left to urge its way, by 

 the efforts of individual enterprise alone, aided by the 

 scanty protection of a very limited individual patronage. 

 An attempt, however, was made early in the year 

 1818, to extend somewhat of national patronage to 

 those engaged in its professional pursuits, by an asso- 

 ciation of those noblemen and gentlemen who were 

 disposed to assist the advancement of the fine arts in 

 this portion of the empire. Originating from the same 

 motives which had given rise to the British Institu- 

 tion, and having the same patriotic and extensive ob- 

 jects in view, namely, the promotion in general of art, 

 and the consequent benefit of artists, the association 

 was established on the 15th April 1818, with the title 

 of " The Institution for the Encouragement of the 

 Fine Arts in Scotland." 



The names of most of the principal nobility and 

 gentlemen of Scotland were soon added to the list of 

 members, of whom the greater part, exceeding 1 00 in 

 number, became life governors, by payment into the 

 funds of the institution of a certain amount of contri- 

 bution. And to complete its auspicious establishment his 

 majesty graciously signified his pleasure to honour the 

 institution by becoming its patron and president. Very 

 distinguished success has hitherto attended the exertions 

 of this establishment, conducted by a committee of eight 

 directors, with a treasurer, honorary and assistant se- 

 cretaries, and a manager. Six public exhibitions have 

 already taken place under their auspices ; two consist- 

 ing of the works of ancient masters alone, and four of 

 those of the living artists of the united kingdom. And 

 the satisfaction expressed on these occasions by the 

 public, together with the increasing demand for works 

 of art, which evinces itself in the annually increasing 

 amount of purchases effected at these exhibitions, suf- 

 ficiently prove their utility. A very elegant structure, 

 comprehending an ample suit of galleries and accom- 

 modations for the Institution has been lately erected in 

 a style suitable to the extensive objects contem- 

 plated, and was opened on the 13th of February 

 2826, on which occasion the Institution gave an 

 elegant entertainment to the principal inhabitants. 

 Here the annual exhibitions of both classes will in fu- 

 ture be displayed, that of the ancient school supplied 

 by the liberality of proprietors of these valuable work?, 

 who thus contribute an important service to their 

 country, in affording the means of improvement and 

 diffusion of taste ; the modern pictures consist of -the 

 works of existing British artists or others resident in 

 Britain, accompanied by a note of the prices when in- 

 tended for sale. The institution has already laid the 

 5 



S GOTLAND. 



foundation of a library of works connected with the Statistics. 

 fine arts which will be progressively augmented ; it is 

 intended besides to dedicate the funds (which are al- 

 ready respectable) to whatever may appear most con- 

 ducive to the advancement of art, the encouragement 

 of artists, and the necessary aid and protection to young 

 aspirants in that study. 



See our article EDINBURGH, for an account of vari- 

 ous other societies and public institutions. 



CHAP. IX. PUBLIC WORKS, &c. 



Owing to her mountainous surface, and to the na- Public 

 ture of her coasts, Scotland possesses many public Works, 

 works, which have been visited and admired by 

 travellers of all nations. Many of these works are 

 unique in point of magnitude and extent, and evince 

 the munificence of the government, and the skill of our 

 civil engineers. As these works have been fully de- 

 scribed in other articles of this Encyclopedia, we shall 

 now merely refer the reader to the different heads un- 

 der which they have been given. 



R . , 1 Stone and iron. See BRIDGE, VoL IV. 



bridges, > Suspension. See SUSPENSION Bridge, 



Vol. XVIII. 



Canals. See NAVIGATION Inland, Vol. XV. 



Lighthouses. See LIGHTHOUSES, Vol. XIII.. 



Railways. See RAILWAYS, Vol. XVII. 



Roads. See ROADS, Vol. XVII. 



CHAP. X. ON THE CLIMATE OP SCOTLAND. 



ALTHOUGH many meteorological registers have been On the cli. 

 kept in Scotland, and many observations made relative mate of 

 to the condition of its climate, yet it is by no means an Scotland, 

 easy task to give a comprehensive and satisfactory view 

 of the subject. The early meteorological registers con- 

 sisted of records of the temperature at hours of the day 

 which were very unfit to give its mean temperature ; 

 and consequently the mean temperature of the year had 

 been ascertained only in a very few places. These 

 observers seem to have attached a particular interest 

 to the observations of the highest and lowest tempera- 

 tures, two elements which are of very little service in 

 meteorological speculations.. 



There seems to be little doubt that the climate of 

 Scotland was considerably milder in ancient times than 

 it is at present ; and indeed this appears to be true of 

 all the western kingdoms of Europe. When Julius 

 Caesar landed in England on the 29th of August, ac- 

 cording to Dr. Halley, he found that all the corns were 

 reaped except in one district. Caasar states that the 

 climate of Britain was more temperate, and the cold 

 less severe than in Gaul ; and we read in Tacitus, that 

 the sky was foul with continued rains and fogs, but 

 that it was free from the rigours of cold. It is related 

 by Flavius Vopiscus, in his Life of Probus, that the 

 emperor gave permission to the Britains to raise vines 

 and to manufacture wine ; and Beda informs us that 

 vineyards were cultivated in Britain. 



It appears from the records of religious houses, that 

 in the parish of Lesmahago in Lanarkshire, wheat was 

 formerly paid as tythe from lands, whereas for several 

 centuries back, its climate is scarcely fit for bringing 

 oats to perfection. In the parish of Glenluce too, in 

 Wigtonshire, 12 bolls of wheat and 12 boils of barley 

 were formerly paid in tythe by a farm, which, about 40 

 years ago, brought a rent of only 12. 



An argument in favour of the deterioration of our 

 climate, by no means devoid of plausibility, has been, 



